


Contracts, Atlantis Style

by facetofcathy



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: 1000-3000 words, Community: non_mcsmooch, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-08-22
Updated: 2008-08-22
Packaged: 2017-10-03 05:18:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/facetofcathy/pseuds/facetofcathy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>John cocked his head and stared at Woolsey's unhelpfully blank face. "Canceling? That's, just out of the blue? That's insane."</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Contracts, Atlantis Style

John slid into the chair opposite Woolsey, who promptly pulled his glasses off and slapped them onto the desk and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked frustrated and annoyed, but then he nearly always did the day the data-burst from the SGC came in.

"Colonel, I'll get right to the point," Woolsey said with a sigh. He slipped his glasses back on and glanced at his laptop screen and then sighed again. "I have received a new directive from the IOA. They are cancelling the contracts of all non-scientist civilian contractors here and at the SGC itself."

John cocked his head and stared at Woolsey's unhelpfully blank face. "Canceling? That's, just out of the blue? That's insane."

"Yes, well, be that as it may, we are required to follow IOA directives. I have the list of affected personnel here." Woolsey started to turn the laptop so John could see.

John smiled grimly and didn't glance at the screen, "Four people who work in the Mess, twelve lab techs, three support staff for the Infirmary and three full time translation assistants for the Linguistics Department, that's twenty-two people, mostly Athosians. Plus of course, Ronon and Teyla."

Woolsey raised his brows a fraction. "Correct. There is some hope for keeping at least some of our people. We are authorized to submit requests for renegotiation for all personnel who meet the new requirements, so the cancellation is not completely cut and dried, but…"

"New requirements?" John sat back, certain the other shoe was going to drop with as loud a bang as the first one, if the look on Woolsey's face was anything to go by.

"There's a whole list, I could show you, but it boils down to us having to justify the need for the individual in question's unique skills, which will be easy enough for our people. The problem is going to be the requirement to demonstrate the individual's ties to the community and resultant commitment to the goals of the expedition."

"Ties to the community?"

"Yes, I've gotten some off the record hints from some contacts of mine that the real goal of this policy is to open up slots at the SGC for more foreign military specialists. We're just getting caught in the crossfire, as it were. We will likely be able to keep all Athosian personnel, and Teyla, with her family right here in the city, will have no problem meeting the new criteria. The issue is going to be-"

"Ronon," John sighed.

* * *

John waited impatiently for the rest of his team to show up. He'd insisted that they all be brought up to speed. He heard voices from the hallway and sat back and tried to look calm.

"-why I have to have my day interrupted for some sort of administrivia. I'm in the middle of some very important work and-"

"Shut up, McKay," Ronon said good-naturedly as the two of them paused to let Teyla precede them into the room.

John let Woolsey explain the whole thing again. He'd been expecting ranting and outrage from Rodney and maybe some sign of anger or hurt from Ronon. What he hadn't expected was for Rodney to laugh, long and loud. Teyla looked at him in outrage, and John just held his head and waited for the day to start making sense.

"So I need to have ties to the community," Ronon said and Woolsey nodded eyeing Rodney's big, grinning face with alarm. "Like, say I was married to someone, someone from Earth?"

Woolsey looked mildly hopeful for a moment but then shook his head. "If you were to get married now, assuming there was a woman here willing, not that you would have a problem with that but, regardless - it would be seen as an attempt to circumvent the rules and would not be accepted by the IOA."

Rodney laughed again, and Teyla said, "Rodney," in her most scandalized tones.

"Oh please," he said. "Give me that laptop." He made gimmee motions at Woolsey, who slid the machine across the desk before Rodney could start snapping his fingers. Rodney punched a few keys, and then he keyed in what was obviously a password made up of a long string of numbers. John could just see what looked like a scan of an official document bearing some sort of seal on the screen before Rodney spun the computer around and shoved it back at Woolsey.

Wolsey read the document over, frown deepening, and John eyed everyone in the room uneasily. Ronon looked smug, Rodney looked even more smug, and Teyla looked very confused.

"Is this real?" Woolsey said and fixed Rodney with a glare.

Rodney glared right back. "Of course it's real. That is a certified electronic copy of a document that's on file with my lawyer in Vancouver.

John's mind stumbled over the words lawyer and Vancouver, and he got a sick feeling of hope mixed with horror in his stomach.

"You are seriously telling me that you and Mr. Dex are married?" Woolsey's voice rose a little in volume, and really, John thought Woolsey was doing great, because John was screaming inside. Or maybe laughing, laughing hysterically.

"Yes, yes. It is legal in Canada you know," Rodney said. "We had the full ceremony, do you take this man, blah, blah, blah. I now pronounce you husband and husband, and you may kiss the groom."

"That was my favourite part," Ronon said. Rodney managed to up the smug to another level.

"When ah, when was this?" John managed after a moment.

"Last summer when we all went to Jeannie's for a few days."

John remembered an afternoon where Rodney had maneuvered John and Teyla into going hiking together and they'd come home to find Rodney and Ronon passed out drunk on the sofa reeking of saki. Jeannie had only said they'd called to be picked up from a Sushi bar.

"Sushi," John said, and Teyla met his gaze. She had to cover her mouth to muffle the sharp bark of laughter that threatened to escape.

"Yeah, that part was good too," Ronon said fondly. "I still want one of those knives they use."

"Fine, fine," Rodney groused. "I'll get you one. You see, I am totally henpecked here."

Woolsey frowned at everyone and let out a sigh and slumped back in his chair. "I'm sorry gentlemen, it's a lovely scheme on paper, but no one at the IOA is ever going to believe it."

Ronon stood up and leaned both hands on Woolsey's desk and glowered. "Why not?"

Rodney stood up and tugged on Ronon's sleeve. Ronon stood back but kept up the glower. Rodney turned to Woolsey. "Please, can we just. Look, we'll show you okay. We convince you, you convince the rest of the IOA. Simple."

John was about to say how not simple the whole mess was when Rodney stood up on tiptoe and slipped his hands around Ronon's neck. Ronon immediately had his own hands around Rodney's waist and tilted his head down. He whispered, barely audible, "You may kiss the groom," before his mouth found Rodney's.

John couldn't look away. Both of them had let their eyes flutter closed, and Rodney was making little needy moaning sounds against Ronon's mouth, and Ronon's hands were inching lower every second. When they finally, finally came up for air and Rodney opened his eyes again, John couldn't help but notice his dazed expression and kiss-swollen lips.

"I totally need to take the rest of the day off now," Rodney said.

"Yeah," Ronon replied. "Good plan."

John was staring at the closed door of Woolsey's office for a very long time before he realized they'd both left.

"Right," Woolsey said, and cleared his throat a couple of times until John turned to stare at him instead of the door. "Now that that's taken care of, there is one more order of business. Apparently the SGC wants Atlantis to find space for one of their civilian contractors. I'm not sure how they're circumventing the ties to the community issue with this one, but we are to expect one Vala Mal Doran on the next Daedalus run...."


End file.
